BEREA — Trent Richardson didn’t meet the expectations of many, including himself, in an injury-marred rookie season, but running backs coach Gary Brown believes he will become one of the NFL’s elite runners.

“He has that type of ability,” Brown said Friday. “I promise you this, we haven’t seen the best of him. We’ve seen flashes. Last week against Denver you saw the quickness again.

When he gets to the second or third year, you’ll be saying he’s one of the best in the league. I truly believe that.”

Richardson’s season ended Friday when coach Pat Shurmur ruled him out for the finale Sunday in Pittsburgh. Richardson sprained an ankle last week in the final minute of the loss to Denver when quarterback Colt McCoy was driven into him.

Richardson, the No. 3 pick in the draft, set team rookie records with 1,317 yards from scrimmage, 950 rushing yards, 11 rushing touchdowns, 12 total touchdowns and 72 points. He averaged 3.6 yards a carry.

Richardson wasn’t available to the media this week and is expected to talk Monday.

“To his standards, disappointing,” Brown said. “I know for certain that he wanted to do more.

“He wanted to be more productive, but with the knee and the ribs, it kind of slowed his rookie season down. He’s still optimistic on being a top-flight running back in this league.”

Richardson had arthroscopic knee surgery in February and another during training camp in August. He missed the preseason but returned for the opener. Then in Week 6 he suffered a serious rib cartilage injury that affected him for the remainder of the year.

Richardson lacked the explosion expected from a top-10 pick, finishing with six runs of 15 yards, with a long of 32.

“If the knee’s not right as a running back, you don’t feel good and you’re not going to be as explosive until that confidence level gets higher,” Brown said. “And I think when the knee finally started feeling better, that’s when the rib hit.

“You can’t breathe, you can’t twist, you can’t turn, so for us to go out there and expect him to be the Trent that we all saw at Alabama, I think that we were putting a little bit too much on him. He went out and played and showed he’s a very mentally and physically tough kid. I think he holds himself to such a high standard, even though when he was running hard and playing well, he just didn’t feel like Trent. So God willing he’s going to come back strong from the rib and the knee is strong and then the city of Cleveland will see exactly what Trent Richardson is.”

Cleveland Browns rookie running back Trent Richardson sat out the season finale Sunday, costing him a chance to top the 1,000-yard mark in rushing.

The fact that he even amassed 950 yards was amazing, as he announced Monday that he played more than half of the season with two broken ribs.

Richardson, who started the Browns' first 15 games, was hurt Oct. 14 in Cleveland's 34-24 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. The team regularly listed him on its injury reports with a rib cartilage problem, and Richardson missed Sunday's 24-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers because of an ankle injury.

Asked how long before he'd be fully recovered, Richardson told reporters, "I don't know how much time it's going to take me. I still can't lay flat on my back or on my side, but it's going to come around, and I know I'll be healthy before next season, and I'll be back right in training camp and (organized team activities).

"Ya'll will see me flying around and see me back skinny man again -- I won't have that big vest on next year. I'm going to have a rib protector on, but I won't have a big vest on."

Richardson's rushing total topped Jim Brown's franchise rookie record, but it was his perseverance through the injury that impressed his teammates.

"Most guys would completely shut it down and say, 'Oh, I'm getting paid,'" quarterback Brandon Weeden, another rookie, told reporters. "That's not his thing. He's a competitor. He knew how tough a player he was, how much he meant to this team. I applaud him. It's amazing what he was able to do with such a beat-up body."